Then there were pink bear sightingsIn South Dakota and Colorado, All thought to be hoaxes but then The New York Times published a photo, front page; It looked real enough.

The article interviewed a hiker Who reported talking to the Pink Bear. He said it was standing up. When asked what the bear said The hiker said he couldn't repeat it; The bear was talking trash. The hiker said the bear was heading for Washington.

What happened next is hard to believe. (I mean in my dream it was hard to believe.) There were signs that great changes are coming: Mount Shasta was waking up, sending out a plume of ash. Native Americans warning, This is it.There was a black-out in Washington And when the lights returned Someone had painted the Abraham Lincoln monument Blackface, black hands. And CODEPINK managed to cloak Half the Washington Monument in pink.

Then the Pink Bear went on Fox News.

He said he was running for president. And everyone got a close look at him, And nobody could agree on what they saw. Was he a bear or a man? A man who looked like a bear or a bear who looked like a man?

He said: It's time. I came all the way
because it's time. Time to step up. Time to make it right. Time to throw the bums
out. I have the power and
the money and the will. I have the moxie. I
have the credentials. I will fire everyone
who isn't on board. Don't mess with me,
Russia. Don't mess with me,
China, And North Korea. .
.You are nothing to me, To us. I'm that big! I am from a place so powerful That the sun rises on
demand. The ice melts under my
gaze. I live in a silver ice
tower. I see everything. That's why I came.Then the reporter interrupted to ask: "What is your name?" And the Pink Bear, whose pinkness was now a bright aura Burning around his pink face, said: Just call me teacher,
wonder, Truth, victor, trouble-for-our-enemies, Bringer of power back
to the glory of the highest ideals Of the shining hope of
the capitalist City of towers, home
of the up-soaring eagles and eaglets Of the antiterrorist,
innocent, uneducated Poor saps of forgotten
Americans Who just want me to
reopen their bowling alley! Isn't that pathetic!
My God, that is pathetic! My eyes are watering.
I'm that sensitive, see? I love to bowl! Which I will do, by
the way Because I can do that. And I will make their
little towns start up again Just like a music box
that my grandfather gave me That plays some patriotic
song from the civil war era That I can't remember,
but that's why I have aides, To remember stuff like
that. I was born with a very
smart brain. I will use that brain
to make us The best and the most
powerful again And. . .what was the
question?

And everyone was stunned and touched And filled with a new feeling Of hope, because the Pink Bear was so brave and powerful And average and humble and forgetful. . .

And the reporter said: "What a country! What a time to be
alive. If a Pink Bear can love us enough And give up his life in the tundra, And his ice tower, Surely we can spare him a tiny, insignificant vote of
confidence."

Then the Pink Bear interrupted: Oh and by the way, I just want to say, I love Latinos and
Blacks and Europeans and everyone. And I'm really smart
and nothing is going to get in my way. When I want something
I usually get it, If I really want it, And you know what? I want this.

Gary Lindorff is a poet, writer, blogger and author of several books, the latest: 13 Seeds: Health, Karma and Initiation. Over the last few years he has begun calling himself an activist poet, channeling his activism through poetic (more...)

"Rob Kall's book, Bottom-Up, offers a compelling vision of a way of being in the world, bringing insights from different cultures and fields together while offering concrete steps to make the vision a reality. This is one of the rare books that, once you read it, will change the way you see the world and your relationships."

Helena Norberg-Hodge, author of Ancient Futures,
Producer and co-director of the film The Economics of Happiness, Founder of Local Futures and cofounder of the International Forum on Globalization